Lapse
by Robot Queen Destroyer
Summary: The Phantom of the Opera is not in the opera theater nor his time period. The question: Did he time travel? Or did he hallucinate?


"What? Where am I?" Erik murmured as he rose up and looked around at the green forest around him.

"You're awake!" A young female voice shouted happily.

He gets up and turns to his side quickly to see the blonde, hazel eyed woman approach him. "Don't be alarmed! I'm not going to hurt you." She said, trying to reassure him.

He knew she wasn't a threat to him and even if she was; he was able to defend himself.

"Who are you?" He asked in a flat tone.

"I am Aurora." She answered with a smile. "What's your name?"

"Erik."

"Are you well enough to walk?" She asked with concern.

"Why?" He asked in confusion.

"I have a horse over there." She said pointing to her white horse. "You need to come to my house so I can get you some dry clothes."

He looks down at himself and touches the black fabric of his jacket. Being dazed by everything around him, he didn't realize he was soaking wet.

"Do they fit?" Aurora asked.

He looks down at the dark blue tunic, stockings and black shoes. Wrapped securely around his waist was a black clothed belt.

"Yes." He answered, looking back up at her.

"Good! I was worried they wouldn't. Since my father has a smaller frame than you do." She said with a light laugh.

There were silent for a minute before he asked. "Do your parents know I'm here?"

She nodded, "They said you can stay as long you like."

"How did I get wet and unconscious?"

"You don't remember?"

"No." He answered shaking his head. "What happened?"

"I was taking a walk in the forest and I saw you slip, hit your head, and fall into the river. When I pulled you out, you were unconscious so I tried to wake you up but I couldn't. So I started to run to get my horse and take you to town but thankfully you awoke."

He concentrated trying to remember, "I remember being in my home then waking up in the forest." Then placed a hand on his head and started to stubble.

"Are you alright?" She asked, racing over to him to holding him up so he wouldn't fall over. He nods and she lets go of his shoulders as he sits down on the bed.

"Where are you from?" She asks, sitting in a chair across from him.

"A place far from here." He answers. He thought about actually telling her where he lives but he decided not to in account that the place probably didn't exist here.

"Do you have a family?"

"No."

Awkward silence filled the room for a long time until he spoke, "You mention your parents. Do you have any siblings?"

"No. Well…not yet anyway." She answers with a hopeful smile. "I hope this doesn't seem forward but, do you have a wife or a sweetheart waiting for you?" she asks before looking down at the floor.

"No." he answers, "Do you?"

"I've been engaged for six years to Philip, he's the prince of a neighboring kingdom." She said, looking down because she was blushing.

He looked away, his stomach turning in disgust. Then he imagined what the prince looked like- a tall, dark haired Adonis with the perfect smile and devil may care attitude every woman desired. It made him sick that in everything, beautiful people got everything while people like himself got nothing.

"Do you have any friends?" She asked, breaking his thoughts. He turns back to her and shakes his head no.

Again there was a long, awkward silence.

"I'll be leaving your home when my clothes have dried." He tells her.

"Why?" she asks.

"I've taken enough of your time and hospitality already." He answers.

"What about your head? Where would you go?"

"I feel fine and if something happens I can manage. I'll just live in the forest until I can find a way home."

She was silent for a minute then says, "Your clothes won't be ready until tomorrow." Then turns and walks out the door, closing the door behind her.

He saw the sadness in her face as she went. 'She probably thinks I'm ungrateful for everything she has done for me.' He thought, before falling to sleep.

He woke up early the next morning as the sun streamed across his masked face. Getting up, he stretches then looks down to see his dried suit and cape at the end of the bed. He puts them on quickly, makes the bed, folds the clothes Aurora gave him and places them on the bed before walking out the room.

Before he would leave, he wanted to thank Aurora for everything she's done.

The castle was large with many rooms and corridors but he was determined to find her.

Suddenly he stopped when he heard singing like that from an angel echo through the corridor he was on. Bedazzled, he followed it until he came to a room with its door cracked open and peaked inside to see that the lovely voice belonged to Aurora who was arranging flowers in a vase. Then she stated to dance as she sung, her eyes firmly shut and he continued to watch her.

She finished singing and turned around to leave but when she saw him she jumped in surprise, "Oh!" then quickly recovered, "Good morning." She greets with a smile.

"Good morning." He greeted back, "I'm sorry I startled you. I was searching for you then I heard someone singing and followed it."

"Did you like my singing?" She asked.

"Of course I did. You have the loveliest voice I ever heard. Anyone who doesn't think so is a fool."

She involuntary blushes and looks down; Erik looks down too in embarrassment.

"You said you were searching for me, why?" She asks looking back up, her cheeks a light pink color.

"I wanted to thank you before I left."

"Oh." She says sadly.

He thanks her, says good-bye and departs.

It took him hours to make it out to the forest since the village was huge. He lay upon the green grass; his arms folded over his stomach and sighed in misery. The place was beautiful and peaceful but he felt misplaced. Even though he was displaced in his own world, he had to go back to it. He devised to search around the forest, since it was the place he "landed", there had to be something here to send him back.

His mind wondered which he didn't want it to on Aurora. When he heard her sang, a string tugged at his heart. She was a beautiful, gracious woman there was no denying that but she was also happily in love and engaged to another man and more importantly she was a princess so his interest in her was wrong.

Fed up with his brain, he got up and searched in the trees, fallen logs, everywhere and anything for a way out until dawn the next day. He would stop momentarily to eat berries and drink river water.

Three weeks he searched and found nothing. Filled with fatigue and despair he lay down on the ground and slept, ignoring his hunger and thirst. His dreams were mischievous and cruel, making him wake up in cold sweats periodically then he fell asleep not waking up at all.

Aurora tossed about in a restless sleep. Since Erik left, she started having trouble sleeping. She thought it was because of nightmares but she hasn't dreamt of anything for since she was sixteen. Waking up and facing upward towards the ceiling, she finally understood what was bothering her: guilt. When he departed, she had thought about going into the forest but decided not to because she thought he would be intruding in his path to get back home. Something else bothered her as well; a feeling she had towards him. It wasn't love that she knew, she was strangely attracted to him. She didn't understand why she felt like this; maybe she was intrigued by his air of majestic mystery and awe about him. Thinking this, she immediately got angry with herself. Feelings of this sort were childish and improper for a mature woman like herself to have. Still she couldn't shake these feelings off, so she declared to go to the forest tomorrow, it was the only way she could ease her mind.

She woke up late the next morning and hurriedly got dressed, saddled her horse and rode off into the forest. But when she searched, he wasn't anywhere to be found. That gave her relief since he found a way home and she was also kind of sad because she wanted to find out more about him. Except somewhere deep inside her brain whispered to her that if stayed any longer, it would have been catastrophic to them all.

"What?" Erik murmured, rubbing the sleep out his eyes. He looked around to see he was in his home and he was at his desk but he remembered falling into a coma in a forest after he searched for three weeks for a way back here. 'Did I make imagine it all?' He thought in confusion. 'No I couldn't have, Aurora's face was too real to be a hallucination and her voice still rings in my ears.' He thought himself mad and covered his ears to drown it out. Suddenly, it stopped and was replaced by another voice more lovely than the one he thought was real.

Making his way up to surface and hidden in darkness, he watched the beautiful, young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes sing. Her voice pulled a string in his heart like the one in his dream.

—-

Aurora and Sleeping Beauty belong to Disney. Erik and Phantom of the Opera belongs to it's respectable owners

Aurora is 22 in this, she's 16 in the movie and I don't know which Phantom I wrote for this because I didn't specify.

Please DO NOT copy or re-use.


End file.
